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Flashfic Writing

The Rules: a flash fiction/drabble

Ashleigh NicSidhe

A Meeting of Minds

© 2007 Ashleigh Mitchell

1st Man: Now here at the Rock we have two rules. Memorize them until you can say them in your sleep. Rule number one: obey all rules.

2nd Man: Rule Number One – ‘You do not Talk About Fight Club. Rule Number two…’

3rd Man: Rule number one … ‘Robots never harm humans.’

4th man: No, Rule Number One is ‘We don’t trade Code Names.”

5th Man: No, Rule Number One is ‘You Do Not Talk About Fight Club!’

6th Man: No, Rule Number One is “Never look in the package.’

7th Man: Rule number one: never hire friends.

8th Man: Rule number one: never do anything yourself when someone else can do it for you.

9th Man: No, Universal Rule Number One is ‘Do Not go Wandering Off.’

6th Man: No, Rule Number One is “Never look in the package.’

9th Man: No, don’t worry about that, trust me: ‘Do Not Go Wandering Off.’

slight pause…

10th Man: Uh, what about rule number one?

9th Man: Oh, by the way…’RUN!’

Inward clockwise spiral beneath the Anglo-Saxon 'ash' rune (ᚫ), representing descent into the Otherworld and spiritual thresholds (spiral), combined with the ash tree's symbolism of rootedness, ancestral connection, and liminal authority (rune). The spiral represents the Sidhe raths or fairy mounds. Combined it is a representation of "Ash McSidhe,

Ash NicSidhe

Ash NicSidhe has been a voice in the Pagan and Traditional Witchcraft community for over fifty years, writing under this name and its evolving magical lineage. Her work explores Witchcraft, folklore, Tarot, and the esoteric arts, weaving scholarly insight with lived ritual experience and initiatory tradition. As Elder High Priestess of Nemed Cuculatii, she continues to serve as a guardian of the old ways and a trickster of the spiral path. Her writing has appeared in The Witches’ Almanac, The Crystal Well, and other Pagan publications back into the 1970s. She has also contributed to books including The Small-Town Pagan's Survival Guide, Reflections in Diana’s Mirror: A Devotional for the Queen of Heaven, Which Witch is Which, and more.

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Photograph of Anne Frank. Above it: GERMANY OF 1943 IS BEING REPEATED IN usa OFF 2025 Below it "Terrible things are happening outside. Poor helpless people are being dragged out of the homes. Families are torn apart. Men, women, and children are separated. Children come home from school to find that their parent have disappeared." - Diary of Anne Frank January 13, 1943. Image credit Jeffrurr.bsky.social
Writing

Another Month, Another Post

Towards the end of March, the characters related to the *Good Bones* saga began talking to me—no, lecturing me. More specifically, Brooke Morningstar’s grandparents, Anastazia and Józef, both Holocaust survivors, sat me down one evening and began telling me their harrowing story. From Auschwitz-Birkenau, to their struggle for survival and eventual reunion in Prague, their journey is one of resilience and love. Not to mention their history has some parallels to current events today.

Ashleigh NicSidhe
Eddy BERTHIER from The Hague, Netherlands, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Writing

Beyond the Shadow: Reclaiming the Hidden Light Within

In the realm of Carl Jung’s psychology, shadow work has become a popular term, often conjuring images of exploring one’s darker impulses and repressed flaws. It’s a practice of looking within, facing those aspects of ourselves we’d rather deny—our anger, jealousy, or selfishness. While this journey is undoubtedly transformative, there’s another, equally vital side to the shadow that often goes unnoticed. What if, instead of only confronting what we fear in ourselves, we also asked: What good have we buried in the shadow?

Ashleigh NicSidhe